This policy explains how AR Gardiner & Co. Ltd ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, shares and protects your personal information, and your rights under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to visitors to this website and to our clients and prospective clients.
1. Who we are
We are the data controller for the personal information we hold about you.
- AR Gardiner & Co. Ltd, registered in England & Wales (company no. 07571203).
- Registered office: Marwood House, Stones Cross Road, Crockenhill, Kent BR8 8LT.
- Phone: 01322 761081 · Email: bobby@argardiner.co.uk
- We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller, under registration number ZA281607.
- We are licensed and regulated by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) under licence number 1002954, including for anti-money-laundering supervision.
2. The information we collect
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:
- Information you give us: when you complete a form on this site, request a callback, email or call us: your name, business or property details, email address, phone number and anything you tell us about your enquiry.
- Client information: if you become a client, the financial, tax, payroll and business records we need to provide our services, plus identity documents we are legally required to collect for anti-money-laundering (AML) checks (e.g. passport or driving licence, proof of address).
- Website information: basic technical data such as your IP address, browser type and pages visited, collected through cookies and similar technologies. See our cookie information below.
3. How and why we use your information
We only use your personal data where the law allows us to. Our lawful bases are:
| What we do | Lawful basis |
|---|
| Respond to your enquiry and provide a quote | Taking steps at your request before entering a contract; our legitimate interests in responding to enquiries |
| Provide accountancy, tax, payroll, VAT and related services | Performance of our contract with you |
| Carry out identity and anti-money-laundering checks | Compliance with our legal obligations (Money Laundering Regulations 2017) |
| File returns and correspond with HMRC, Companies House and others on your behalf | Performance of our contract; compliance with legal obligations |
| Send you occasional updates or newsletters (if you ask us to) | Your consent, which you can withdraw at any time |
| Keep our website secure and improve it | Our legitimate interests in running a safe, effective website |
4. Who we share it with
We never sell your personal data. We share it only where necessary, with:
- HMRC and Companies House, to file returns and accounts on your behalf.
- Our software and service providers: for example cloud accounting platforms (such as Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent), secure document and IT/hosting providers, who process data on our instructions under a contract.
- Website providers: our online enquiry-form provider (Formspree, based in the US) receives the details you submit through our website forms, and our website chat assistant is powered by Google (Gemini AI), which processes the messages you type in order to reply. Please don’t share sensitive personal or financial details in the website chat.
- The AAT or other regulators, where we are required to for regulatory or AML purposes.
- Other professional advisers (e.g. IFAs or solicitors) only with your agreement.
Where any provider processes data outside the UK, we take steps to ensure it is protected by an adequacy decision or appropriate safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement.
5. How long we keep it
We keep your information only as long as necessary:
- Client and tax records: generally at least six years after the end of the relevant accounting period or the end of our engagement, in line with tax law.
- Anti-money-laundering records: five years after the end of our business relationship, as the regulations require.
- Website enquiries that don’t become clients: a limited period, after which they are deleted.
6. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- Ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you (a “subject access request”);
- Ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
- Ask us to delete your data, or restrict how we use it, in certain circumstances;
- Object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and to direct marketing;
- Ask us to transfer your data (data portability); and
- Withdraw any consent you have given, at any time.
Some rights are limited where we have a legal obligation to keep your records (for example for tax or AML). To exercise any right, email bobby@argardiner.co.uk. We will respond within one month.
7. Cookies
Our website uses a small number of cookies and similar technologies to function and, where you agree, to help us understand how the site is used. You can control cookies through your browser settings. A full cookie policy will be provided; if you would like details in the meantime, please contact us.
8. Keeping your data safe
We take the security of your information seriously and use appropriate technical and organisational measures (including access controls, encryption where appropriate and secure, reputable software providers) to protect it against loss, misuse or unauthorised access.
9. Complaints
If you have any concern about how we handle your data, please tell us first so we can put it right. Email bobby@argardiner.co.uk. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last revised. Please check back occasionally.
